Pasta is no longer off the menu, after a new review of studies suggested that the carbohydrate can form part of a healthy diet, and even help people lose weight. For years, nutritionists have recommended that pasta be kept to a (26) _____ to cut calories, prevent fat build-up and stop blood sugar (27) _____ up.
The low-carbohydrate food movement gave birth to such diets as the Atkins, Paleo and Keto, which advised swapping foods like bread, pasta and potatoes for vegetables, fish and meat. More recently the trend of swapping spaghetti for vegetables has been (28) _____ by clean-eating experts.
But now a (29) _____ review and analysis of 30 studies by Canadian researchers found that not only does pasta not cause weight gain, but three meals a week can help people drop more than half a kilogram over four months. The reviewers found that pasta had been unfairly demonized (妖魔化) because it had been (30) _____ in with other, more fat-promoting carbohydrates.
“The study found that pasta didn’t (31) _____ to weight gain or increase in body fat,” said lead author Dr. John Sievenpiper. “In (32) _____ the evidence, we can now say with some confidence that pasta does not have an (33) _____ effect on body weight outcomes when it is consumed as part of a healthy dietary pattern.” In fact, analysis actually showed a small weight loss. So (34) _____ to concerns, perhaps pasta can be part of a healthy diet.
Those involved in the (35) _____ trials on average ate 3.3 servings of pasta a week instead of other carbohydrates, one serving equaling around half a cup. They lost around half a kilogram over an average follow-up of 12 weeks.
